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Space Station Toilets Poop Out

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the so-many-jokes dept.

otter42 writes "The International Space Station's toilet has gone kaput. It seems that the system for separating solid and liquid waste has developed a fault. 'Solids' go where they're supposed to, but 'liquids' don't. The astronauts have bypassed the '"the troublesome hardware" for urine collection with a "special receptacle."' Something tells me they're glad the failure wasn't the other way around." Update: 05/28 21:54 GMT by T : According to a post on Engadget, the toilet's now been repaired.

5 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The good news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Unfortunately this Shuttle mission is probably the most weight limited mission of the entire program. They are putting up the big part of the Japanese lab, and it is huge! I'd have to check, but I think this is the most massive object a Space Shuttle will ever put up. Unless the toilet weighs less than 100 kg, there probably isn't room for it. They've already cut one member of the crew to save weight.

  2. Re:In Soviet Russua . . . . by Eg0Death · · Score: 4, Informative

    . . . SpellCzech says it is spelled Russua!

    --
    Why is this thus? What is the reason for this thusness?
  3. Re:In Soviet Russua . . . . by Maljin+Jolt · · Score: 3, Informative

    . . . SpellCzech says it is spelled Russua!

    Real Czechs spell it Rusko.

    --
    There you are, staring at me again.
  4. Re:The good news by ultranova · · Score: 4, Informative

    But they only have one toilet up there? I mean, sure it's not a "Criticality One" component, but you'd think that would be a good candidate for redundancy.

    Actually, in a small airtight container where the air cannot be exchanged easily (if at all), waste management is Criticality One, especially since there's no gravity and the waste is gas forming and full of micro-organisms.

    Breathing powdered shit is dangerous.

    --

    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  5. Re:time to innovate by Thelasko · · Score: 4, Informative

    The experiment of exposing an unpressurized hand to near vacuum for a significant time while the pilot went about his business occurred in real life on Aug. 16, 1960. Joe Kittinger, during his ascent to 102,800 ft (19.5 miles) in an open gondola, lost pressurization of his right hand. He decided to continue the mission, and the hand became painful and useless as you would expect. However, once back to lower altitudes following his record-breaking parachute jump, the hand returned to normal.
    Quoted from NASA
    There you have it, you don't explode in space. Your skin is actually very air tight. I think the worst thing that could happen is your bladder would become inverted. Think about it. Ouch!
    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".